JPAM Early View: The Currents Beneath the "Rising Tide" of School Choice

What Our Members Say...

The best part of being a member of APPAM is being challenged by other scholars who offer different perspectives and insights into the same governance issues that I care about. ~Donald Moynihan, UW–Madison

JPAM

About the Journal

APPAM founded theJournal of Policy Analysis and Management (JPAM) in 1981 through the merger of two other journals – Policy Analysis and Public Policy. Wiley-Blackwell (formerly John Wiley & Sons) has published JPAM since 1981 and Policy Studies Journal. The current contract for publishing JPAM runs until the end of 2016. JPAM is published quarterly and is a peer-reviewed research journal.

The creation of JPAM fulfilled one of the primary reasons for APPAM's existence: the dissemination of the highest quality multidisciplinary research in public policy and management. As the Association's journal of record, JPAM's ultimate purpose is building a professional community of scholars and practitioners devoted to more effective policy analysis and public management. JPAM welcomes unsolicited manuscripts from all sources.

The JPAM is the leading journal in the field of public policy and public management. Based on the 2010 Reuters ISI one-year impact factor, it is ranked first among all journals of public administration. In the same year, JPAM was ranked in the top ten percent (29/305) of all economics journals, above many fine competitors including Journal of Labor Economics (30), Journal of Health Economics (31), the AEJ-Economic Policy (33), Journal of Human Resources (34) and Journal of Public Economics (50).

A survey published in 2003 by the American Political Science Association found JPAM ranked in the top 35 among its peer journals. The journal is widely known among environmental policy researchers, and has published well-regarded (and cited) articles on education, social welfare, consumer product safety, health care and many other topics.

JPAM is under the management of its editor, appointed to a five-year term by the APPAM Policy Council. The editors to date have been the following:

The JPAM editor works with several associate and section editors and an editorial board of 24 persons appointed to fixed, staggered terms. The editorial board advises the editor on matters of policy. Every year APPAM awards the Raymond Vernon Memorial Prize for the best article published in the current volume of JPAM. The prize selection committee usually is drawn from the editorial board, and Wiley-Blackwell underwrites all expenses related to the prize.

The JPAM editor also appoints section editors to manage five special sections in the journal: Point/Counterpoint, Methods for Policy Analysis, Professional Practice, Policy Retrospectives, and Book Reviews. These sections usually publish shorter, specialized articles on those topics.

For JPAM Authors

The JPAM editorial office is located at the University of Connecticut. The Editor-in-Chief is Kenneth Couch and Managing and Co-Editors are: Jason Fletcher and Robert Kaestner. The topical co-editors of JPAM are: Robert Bifulco, Syracuse University; Elizabeth Grady, University of Southern California; Bradley T. Heim, Indiana University; Mark C. Long, University of Washington; Leonard M. Lopoo, Syracuse University; Matthew Potoski, University of California; Aseem Prakash, University of Washington; Kosali I. Simon, Indiana University; and Christian Zimmermann, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. JPAM reviews and publishes articles under six categories: Feature Research Articles, Point/Counterpoint, Methods for Policy Analysis, Professional Practice, Policy Retrospectives, and Book Reviews. The section editor for Point/Counterpoint, Policy Retrospectives and Professional Practice is Richard V. Burkhauser. The section editor for the Methods for Policy Analysis is Burt S. Barnow. Maureen Pirog is the editor of Book Reviews. All submissions should follow the JPAM style sheet.

JPAM content covers topics across the entire gamut of public policy interests, domestic and international. Any topic of broad interest to JPAM readers generally will be considered.

Submissions should be 30-50 pages in length using double-spaced typescript. Articles should be accessible to JPAM’s diverse readership and recognize that many may be unfamiliar with the topic at hand.

Feature Research Articles

Authors who wish to submit manuscripts for all sections except Book Reviews should do so electronically in PDF format through Editorial Express.

JPAM strives for quality, relevance, and originality. The editors give priority to articles that relate their conclusions broadly to a number of substantive fields of public policy or that deal with issues of professional practice in policy analysis and public management. Although an interdisciplinary perspective is usually most appropriate, articles that employ the tools of a single discipline are welcome if they have substantive relevance and if they are written for a general rather than disciplinary audience. The editors welcome proposals for articles that review the state of knowledge in particular policy areas.

Point/Counterpoint, Methods for Policy Analysis, Professional Practice, and Policy Retrospectives:

Submissions to Point/Counterpoint include short, invited articles that present debates between leading scholars, researchers, practitioners, and policy makers on timely topics that are important for professionals in the public policy and management fields. The Methods for Policy Analysis section includes articles involving methodological innovations and advice for public affairs researchers. Submissions to Professional Practice are short articles that analyze or present ideas about excellent professional practice in policy analysis. The Policy Retrospectives section publishes articles that review and synthesize important areas of policy, research or methodology. The articles will be meant for the entire JPAM readership, and will cover topics across the entire gamut of public policy and management interests, domestic and international. The journal will also entertain review articles on research methods (from data collection to analysis).

JPAM Online

The entire run of JPAM from volume 1, issue 1, to the present now is available on-line through Wiley Online Library (WOL). All active APPAM members have access to this collection as a membership benefit. The entirety of JPAM online is also searchable through Google Scholar and other indexing services.

Online Access to JPAM

Wiley Online Library (WOL). Publisher John Wiley & Sons, Inc. offers the complete run of JPAM through its online library service. Anyone may access basic information about the journal including article abstracts for free, and also arrange to purchase access to articles on a one-time basis. APPAM members in good standing have free electronic access to the full contents of the journal. APPAM sends members information about how to register at the time that they join or renew their memberships. Registration requires having an active APPAM membership number and a special registration key. If you are a member and have lost this information, please e-mail info@appam.org. Once registered, a member can download and print .pdf versions of all articles published in an issue. Members should not post .pdf files downloaded in this manner on other websites (please contact the APPAM office if you wish to do this). Research libraries with JPAM subscriptions also may offer full electronic access to the journal.

Once logged in, visit the JPAM homepage and click “Get New Content Alerts” under the Journal Tools menu in the top left of the journal page. You can also use the Alert Manager in your user profile to manage content alerts.

JPAM Classics

APPAM in partnership with Wiley-Blackwell Publishing is producing a series of volumes that collect together articles from past issues of the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management on select topics of interest to researchers and educators in the public policy and management field. These JPAM Classics may be purchased directly from Wiley-Blackwell or through third-party resellers. Additional information about these volumes can be found on the Wiley-Blackwell website, including full listings of each volume's table of contents. The first three JPAM Classics were in print form and the fourth, Public Management, is available electronically on the JPAM Wiley-Blackwell website.

This book is a compilation of seminal articles on poverty and welfare in the United States that would work well as reading for graduate level courses in welfare, poverty, and evaluation. Containing articles from the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, it is considered to be one of the leading forums for the exploration of poverty and welfare and is presented in a single volume. The book presents high-quality research, performed over many years by a wide range of individuals and organizations. It also includes articles on poverty measurement, concentrated poverty, the relative merits of voluntary versus mandatory welfare-to-work policies, welfare dependency, and the impact of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.